On July 28, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed changes to the existing regulations governing significant new uses of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to align these regulations with revisions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communications Standard (HCS), as well as changes to the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) respirator certification requirements pertaining to respiratory protection of workers from exposure to chemicals. One of the proposed changes would be to make it a significant new use not to implement a hierarchy of controls to protect workers. Persons subject to applicable significant new use rules (SNUR) would be required to determine and use appropriate engineering and administrative controls before using personal protective equipment (PPE) for worker protection, similar to the requirements in the OSHA standards at 29 C.F.R. Section 1910.134(a)(1) and guidance in Appendix B to Subpart I of 29 C.F.R. Part 1910. According to EPA, this change is being proposed partly due to comments received on recently promulgated SNURs. As reported in our December 28, 2011, blog item, EPA proposed on December 28, 2011, SNURs for 17 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). Of particular interest, seven of the chemical substances were multi-walled carbon nanotubes, while six were fullerenes, and the proposed SNURs prompted significant comment. In the July 28, 2016, proposed rule, EPA states that in response to the December 28, 2011, proposed SNURs, it received comments from 26 public submissions. According to EPA, each of the comments generally stated that EPA’s approach of exclusively identifying the absence of adequate PPE as a significant new use instead of engineering and administrative controls is not following the best occupational health and safety practices. The commenters suggested approaches that EPA could adopt. Several commenters identified the industrial hygiene “hierarchy of controls” approach for workplace health and safety, where elimination, substitution, engineering controls, and workplace or administrative controls should be implemented before use of PPE for worker protection. Several commenters stated that persons subject to SNURs should follow the OSHA requirements to use controls that are higher in the hierarchy of controls before requiring employees to use PPE. Some commenters suggested that EPA should specifically incorporate the OSHA requirements at 29 C.F.R. Section 1910.134(a)(1) into each SNUR or modify standard requirements for SNURs at 40 C.F.R. Section 721.63 to require a hierarchy of controls. EPA promulgated final SNURs on June 26, 2013, and responded to the comments, agreeing that a hierarchy of controls should be applied and that PPE should be the last option to control exposures. Below is a sample of comments on the December 28, 2011, proposed SNURs:

Under TSCA, EPA requires manufacturers of new chemical substances, including new nanomaterials, to submit PMNs. EPA’s web page on the control of nanoscale materials under TSCA lists actions EPA has taken to control and limit exposures to new nanoscale materials, including requiring the use of PPE and engineering controls. In light of EPA’s proposed rule, however, and the influence comments on EPA’s December 28, 2011, proposed SNURs have had, manufacturers of new nanomaterials should implement a hierarchy of controls whenever possible. More information on EPA’s July 28, 2016, proposed rule will be available in Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s forthcoming memorandum, which will be posted online.

Related articles

Industrial string lights are used to support temporary lighting systems. Such luminaries are commonly found in mining operations, warehouses and construction sites. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) governs the application of temporary string lights to ensure safety for operators and nearby workers in the site.
The need to oversee temporary lighting practices in hazardous work locations has increased in the past decade. According a...

Within the scope and context of high-reliability safety cultures, hazard control extends into a third dimension of situational awareness beyond conditions and behaviors. While safe conditions are both required by regulatory compliance measures (OSHA, n.d.) as well as promulgated by national consensus standards and provide basic hazard control mechanisms for stagnant hazards such as machinery points of operation, they only provide the pretense for safe behaviors. Safe behaviors, an extension of safe conditions,...

Contrary to popular belief, an oil well can be an explosive hazard even when it is not in operation (pumping steady). An EnergyWire review of federal labor statistics cited that the oil and gas sector experiences the most deaths from fires and explosions, compared to other private industries.
Risks of Explosive Elements around Oil Wells
A recent explosion in 2014 at an oil and drilling site in Greeley, Colorado is an example of how indirect contact with explosive elements in or near the facility can be hazardous....

Each year, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) publishes a preliminary list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations for the fiscal year. It is comprised and compiled from thousands of workplace inspections conducted by federal OSHA staff from across the country. Most years, one of the top 10 cited violations involves respiratory protection.
According to OSHA, an estimated 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million workplaces throughou...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released on December 20, 2016, a white paper entitled Sustainability in the Workplace: A New Approach for Advancing Worker Safety and Health. The paper highlights the importance of including worker safety and health in the growing movement toward sustainability and corporate responsibility. According to the paper, research on sustainability does not include occupational safety and health. The paper notes that sustainability research opportunities include...

Customer comments

No comments were found for Comments on 2011 Proposed SNURs Prompt Proposal Regarding Hierarchy of Controls. Be the first to comment!

Add your comment

Great! comment successfully added!

Contact

Your message:

Your email

Your first name

Your last name

I would like to receive periodic email updates and special offers from select suppliers.